Bestie

Bestie Movie Synopsis: A couple on a date at a beach resort experiences strange events and the incidents repeat again as they get stuck in a time loop of sorts.

Bestie Movie Review: While most of the horror flicks are watchable, especially for the chills that they bring along, only a few make us think why they were even made. Bestie is one such film. Director Ranga's idea to pen a horror thriller by repeating the events, sequences and the characters — similar to the time-loop concept — is quite interesting. But this alone is not enough to hold a film that runs for over two hours. Conceiving a story idea and writing for the screen are two different things. Your one-line might sound good on paper, but there is a lot more to making it into a full-length movie.

Like most horror thrillers, Bestie, too, starts off with a young couple (Ashok Kumar and Yaashika Aanand) going on a date to a desolate beach resort. They witness strange things there, leaving them in fear. Whenever Ashok tries to get close to his girlfriend, the doorbell rings. We see a watchman, a vegetable seller, an electrician and a courier guy disturbing their privacy.

While we expect more jump scares and a revelation of the supernatural element, the director surprises us with a twist. We get to see that all these incidents were in the hero's dream and the couple is stuck in their car post an accident.

We are then made to travel with them to the beach resort again and the events get repeated, but in a slightly different pattern. Is there really a ghost? Who is behind all this?

The film starts off as a horror thriller and becomes a revenge drama towards the climax. There are many twists in the second half, but they generate little interest as the director fails to realise that viewers would be interested in the post-interval sequences only if the first half is bearable, which is not the case here. The sequences keep repeating in the most uninteresting ways, leaving us confused, just like the lead characters in the film.

Yaashika Aannand's performance is laudable, especially in the climax sequence, but her character arc could have been more powerful. Ashok has done a decent job, too. Lollu Sabha Maaran, Jeevan and Seshu have contributed well and their scenes are something to watch out for. Though the background score is good to listen to, it fails to elevate the story.